IPL spot fixing 2013: Life ban for Chandila
A BCCI committee declared former Royal Rajasthan off-spinner Ajit Chandila guilty of spot-fixing during IPL 2013, and banned him from all cricket activities for life. BCCI's verdict on Chandila had been pending since his arrest in 2013. Hiken Shah was also banned for 5 years for attempting to fix a Ranji match. The BCCI was yet to decide on Umpire Asad Rauf's fate.
The Delhi Police arrested Rajasthan Royals player Ajit Chandila along with his teammates S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan and 11 bookies for spot-fixing. Chandila was alleged to have taken money for runs during the IPL 2013 matches. Following their arrest, the players were suspended by BCCI from all forms of cricket and IPL authorities were asked to take strong punitive measures against the trio.
According to the Delhi Police, Chandila conceded 14 runs in his second over in the match against Pune Warriors, as part of a deal with a bookie.
Delhi Police's allegation that players were links to Dawood Ibrahim's crime syndicate headed were scrapped by the city court. The court granted bail to Chandila, Sreesanth and Chavan citing that their connections to the booking-syndicate were remote. BCCI deferred its decision on Chandila, as he had not available for questioning, being either in police or judicial custody since his arrest.
The Supreme Court constituted a three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mukul Mudgal to investigate the IPL 2013 spot-fixing. On 10 February 2014, the committee found Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra guilty of involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal. BCCI imposed life bans on Sreesanth and Chavan but Chandila's case stayed undecided.
SC's panel headed by former Chief Justice R.M. Lodha decided the sentence for Chennai Super Kings Principal Gurnath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra for their involvements in fixing IPL 2013. Meiyappan and Kundra were given lifetime suspensions. BCCI was given rights to indict the teams. The panel banned former BCCI president Srinivasan (Meiyappan's father-in-law) from holding any post in BCCI.
The BCCI suspended Mumbai's Hiken Shah after a first-class cricketer complained against him for approaching him for fixing a Ranji match. BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit inquired into the complaint by the so-far unnamed player and proceeded to suspend Hiken Shah from all cricket activities. A 3-member committee headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya was set up to investigate into Shah's transgression.
A Delhi trial court acquitted Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila, finding the evidence of their involvement with Dawood-led crime syndicates insufficient. Despite their discharge, the BCCI stood by its decision of banning Sreesanth and Chavan for life. The BCCI's decision on Chandila continued to remain on the back burner, as the cricketing body's focus shifted to implementing changes within its administration.
